Pre-Order Now: The Backyard Secrets of Danny Wexler by Karen Pokras

Eleven-year-old Danny Wexler, the only Jewish boy in his blue-collar town during the late 1970s, is obsessed with the Bermuda Triangle. When a local child goes missing, Danny’s convinced it’s connected to an old Bermuda Triangle theory involving UFOs. With his two best friends and their Spacetron telescope, Danny heads to his backyard to investigate. But hunting for extraterrestrials is complicated, and it doesn’t help that his friend Nicholas’s mom doesn’t want her son hanging out with a Jewish boy. Equipped with his super-secret spy notebook, Danny sets out to fight both the aliens and the growing anti-Semitism in the town, in hopes of mending his divided community.

Pre-order links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Backyard-Secrets-Danny-Wexler/dp/1728412943
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-backyard-secrets-of-danny-wexler-karen-pokras/1139030774
Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781728412948
Bookshop: bookshop.org

Want it signed? Upload a copy of your pre-order receipt to this form
–> https://forms.gle/2ay32Ab82PyUsdid9 <– and receive a signed bookplate.

Or pre-order a signed copy of The Backyard Secrets of Danny Wexler from Karen’s local independent bookstore, Open Book Bookstore, and automatically be entered to win a Danny Wexler swag bag consisting of stickers, bookmarks, and your very own super-secret spy notebook. Pre-order now through October 31st at: http://go.openbookphilly.com/signedbooks

Karen Pokras is a writer, daisy lover, and occasional baker. Always an avid reader, Karen found her passion for writing later in life and now runs all of her stories past the furry ears of her two feline editorial assistants before anyone else. A native of Connecticut, Karen is the proud mom to three brilliant children who still provide an endless stream of great book material.  She lives with her family outside of Philadelphia. ​

Find Karen Online:

www.karenpokras.com

Instagram: @karenpokras_author

FB: @karenptoz

Twitter: @karentoz

Coming in September: Giraffe Problems by Jory John

Can you guess what’s making this giraffe self-conscious? Could it be . . . HIS ENORMOUS NECK?? Yes, it’s exactly that–how on earth did you figure it out?

Cyrus the giraffe can’t understand why his neck is as long and bendy and, well, ridiculous as it is. No other animal has a neck this absurd. He’s tried disguising it, dressing it up, strategically hiding it behind bushes–honestly, anything you can think of, he’s tried.

Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool – 2
Hardcover: 42 pages
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers (September 25, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1524772038
ISBN-13: 978-1524772031

Pre-order from:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Books-A-Million
Indiebound
iBooks

Coming in February: Midnight Teacher by Janet Halfmann

Halfmann tells the powerful story of Lily Ann Granderson, an enslaved woman who “believed the path to freedom was through education.” Ladd’s rich, naturalistic acrylic-and-pencil images depict Granderson’s upbringing in Kentucky, where she learned to read and write in secret, then shared her knowledge with other children. As an enslaved adult in Mississippi, Granderson risked punishment by holding night classes in an empty cabin: “Landowners feared that if the enslaved could read, they would discover that some northerners wanted slavery abolished.” After the school is discovered, Granderson is shocked to learn that she won’t be punished (Halfmann speculates about why she might have escaped punishment in an afterword) and reopens her school, teaching as a free woman for many more years. The painful but uplifting narrative may spark readers’ curiosity about other enslaved individuals whose stories have not yet been told.

Age Range: 7 – 11 years
Grade Level: 3 – 4
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Lee & Low Books; Illustrated edition (February 6, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1620141639
ISBN-13: 978-1620141632

Pre-order from Amazon or other online retailers.

Coming Soon!: Beulah Land by Nancy Stewart

Seventeen-year-old Vi Sinclair’s roots run deep in the Missouri Ozarks, where, in some areas, it can still be plenty dangerous to be a girl who likes girls. Her greatest wish is to become a veterinarian like her boss, Claire Campbell. Fitting in at school wouldn’t be so bad, either. Only one obstacle stands in the way: She may not live long enough to see her wishes fulfilled.

With help from her only friend, Junior, Vi unravels a mystery that puts her in conflict with a vicious tormentor, a dog fight syndicate, and her own mother. Vi’s experience galvanizes her strength and veracity as she overcomes the paradox of mountain life, in which, even today, customs and mores seem timeless, and where a person can wake up dead simply because of being who she is.

Praise for Beulah Land

Nancy Stewart has produced a tough, courageous novel that belongs on the shelf next to young-adult survival stories like Hatchet and Bridge to Terabithia. Violette’s determination to see justice done drives her to the brink of destruction or danger. However, Stewart keeps her risks and the day-to-day struggle of being queer and out as a young person grounded in reality. Beulah Land is an accurate portrayal of what it’s like to grow up in a place where your very existence is challenged, as well as a reminder that the willingness to push on wins the day, every time.

Beulah Land is a much needed story of queer resistance and courage in the face of bigotry and intolerance.

Reviewed by Claire Foster
Foreword Reviews, November/December 2017

Pre-order the print version from the publisher at https://store.interludepress.com/collections/beulah-land-by-nancy-stewart/products/beulah-land-print-edition

A professor of education specializing in Children’s and Young Adult Literature, Nancy Stewart is also the award-winning author of several bestselling books for young readers. The original manuscript for Beulah Land received the 2015 State of Florida Rising Kite Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She lives with her husband and an adopted Bichon/Shih Tzu pup, Louie, in Tampa, Florida.

Website:  http://www.nancystewartbooks.com

Blog:       http://www.nancystewartbooks.blogspot.com

Twitter:    https://twitter.com/stewartnancy

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nancy.rosenthalstewart

Member:   http://www.scbwi.org

Coming Soon!: Princess Breeze by Beverly Stowe McClure

For months, Breeze Brannigan has heard nothing from Cam, the prince she met at school, who disappeared one night, without telling her goodbye. On the night she graduates from middle school, however, he contacts her and invites her to visit Isla del Fuego, his home. Who could refuse such an invitation?

Breeze along with her whole family and best friends, Amy and Allison, soon sail to the island, where she and Cam renew their friendship. But danger lurks; a legend comes to life; and Breeze finds herself in the middle of a battle that can have one winner.

Most of the time, you’ll find Award-Winning Author Beverly Stowe McClure at her computer, typing stories young voices whisper in her ears.  When she’s not writing, she’s snapping pictures of wildlife, flowers, and clouds. She’s affectionately known as the “Bug Lady.” She’s not telling why. To relax she plays the piano. Her fur babies don’t appreciate good music and hide when she tickles the ivories.

Beverly is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She also teaches a women’s Sunday school class at her church.

Find Beverly online at:

https://beverlystowemcclure.blogspot.com
http://beverlystowemcclure.wordpress.com
Twitter @beverlymcclure